


A Child Under Stress

by Kunoichirin



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 08:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunoichirin/pseuds/Kunoichirin
Summary: Tony has had his suspicions for a long time, but he finally found it to be correct.Peter was undergoing more stress than Tony was sure anyone should have in a life time.





	A Child Under Stress

**Author's Note:**

> Let's face it, Tony is a great father figure to Peter. It's funny, really, how Tony doesn't even try. He just wants Peter to be safe.
> 
> (Also, listen to depressing music. it makes everything sadder)

"Pete, have you finished your homework yet?" Tony asked, tapping on the door. No answer. "Kiddo? You awake in there?" He tapped again. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. A little panic bubbled up in Tony. He began knocking furiously. "Come on, this isn't funny!"

Tony heard a loud thud in the other room, followed by quiet curses, and then silence. This only made Tony's panic worsen. He took a paper clip out of his pocket and tried to pick the lock, but it was clearly being held shut by something.

"Peter, please open the door!" Tony pleaded, still trying to pick the lock. "I'm too old for this!"

Still no answer. Tony growled in frustration. He finally heard the click, and burst into the room. Peter was sitting with the back to the door on his bed, face buried in his knees, which were brought up to his chest. His shoulders were trembling, and there was some quiet sniffling.

The sight shattered Tony's heart.

"Kid... what's wrong?" He asked softly. Peter stiffened.

"M-Mr. Stark..." He mumbled. "Nothing." His voiced had forced cheerfulness in it. His posture was quickly fixed, and he even managed a convincing grin. "What are you talking about?"

Tony frowned, and crossed his arms. "Come on kid. I'm not falling for that. I may be old, but I'm not blind." Peter was still forcing a smile when the tears fell once more. 

He turned away quickly, only giving Tony a glimpse of his utter sorrow on Peter's face. He wasn't sure how much more his heart could take before he began crying himself.

"I'm fine. I finished my homework, if you were wondering." Peter whispered. Tony's frown deepened.

"That's nice and all, but I'm more worried about you right now." Tony replied.

"I'm just feeling a bit out of it. It's nothing to concern yourself over." Peter lied, a strain in his voice. Silence passed between the two of them.

"Pete, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong-"

"JUST GO AWAY!!" Peter suddenly shouted, startling both of them. His crying finally reached Tony's ears. "I've tried, to tell you to leave, n-nicely. P-please just... leave me alone..." He had returned to his previous position; a trembling ball sitting upright on his bed, his face buried in his knees.

Tony was silent again for a bit. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" When Peter didn't respond, Tony walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. He rested his hand on Peter's back. Peter flinched away from the touch.

"It's not important. It doesn't matter. Come on, surely you have more important things to do than be wasting your time here." Peter cleared his throat to cover the crack in his voice after that bitter statement.

"Well, I have things to do, yes, but nothing is more important than a person's well-being. That's why we save the world, isn't it?" Tony pointed out. Peter shifted away a bit, and didn't answer. Tony felt awkward for a moment, trying to think of ways to assure his young protege.

"You guys don't me to save the world... I just get in the way, don't I?" Peter sniffled.

Tony stared at him for a long while, trying not to cry himself. His heart couldn't take anymore of watching Peter suffer. "We save the world, yes, but not many do. We need every person we can get. The more they show up, the more hope it gives us, and the people of this world."

"Even so, I'm only a teenager. What do _I_ know about saving the world? I've failed, so many times. I've almost died, or gotten people killed. That makes me a hindrance, doesn't it?" Peter retorted.

"Don't beat yourself up over that. You can't help what happens, you can only try. Every hero has had to face these problems and great responsibilities." Tony assured him. "But-"

"But we have to look strong for the people, right? We can't just fall apart like this... I'm not strong enough for this." He wrapped his arms around his knees and paused for a long while, trying not to burst out crying again. He was trembling, but aside from small sniffles, he was completely silent.

"That's why you need us. Your team. Your friends. We; The Avengers, all have our problems. We all have our doubts. But we're human too. Well, most of us are. We all... live. And if you live without sin or without sorrow, then either you're lying to yourself, or you're a psychopath." Tony shrugged. "It's not in our nature to be able to deal with this alone. Sometimes we need to admit that we need help from one another-"

"Stop it." Tony paused.

"Pardon?"

"I messed up, I'm a disgrace, I'm useless. I'm just a normal kid who was bitten by some stupid spider. I never asked for this fate. Yet here I am, trying my best to be a hero, when I can't even do anything right." Peter growled bitterly. "So just, stop. I'm not worth it."

"Peter, you're worth it. You're good at heart, and that's what matters. Not many people have good hearts like you." Tony sighed.

"Like Flash." Peter mumbled.

"Hm? Who's Flash?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.

"O-oh, no one, it's not important." Peter assured him quickly. Tony narrowed his eyes further. Peter averted his gaze, clearly uncomfortable.

"What happened?" Tony demanded.

"I, er, maybe sorta... got into a fight at school..." Peter mumbled a bit sheepishly. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Is this 'Flash' person some jerk at your school?" He asked.

"Yeah... it's no big deal though. I won... but I wasn't thinking, and put to much strength in... Flash is fine, but I maybe sent him flying down the hall, and now there's a dent in the wall he slammed into." Peter sheepishly explained.

"Hm. Perhaps I should go have a 'talk' with this 'Flash' person." Peter sat up quickly, alarmed.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, there's _no_ need for you to do that!" He sputtered quickly.

"Well, if he's making your life miserable, then there is _every_ reason for me to." Tony pointed out.

"No, no there isn't." Peter protested. "It'd be really embarrassing- a-and besides, you're Tony Stark, and what if someone figured out that I'm Spider Man, or something along those lines?"

Tony paused. "I suppose that's true... but that still doesn't make me want to just leave it." Tony hesitated for a moment, then hugged the still trembling boy. "Whatever this guy might try to do, or whatever he says, doesn't matter. I know, it's hard to ignore them, but you're Spider Man. You're the strongest person your age. You know, it's hard to see you like this. You're usually so energetic and bouncy, I was beginning to think you _couldn't_ get depressed. I forgot that everyone does... and that it's only natural."

Peter was silent once again.

"Holy cow." The two whipped around. 

"Ned!" Peter exclaimed, wiping away his tears. "Um, hey..."

"Not only are you Spider Man, but Tony Stark is your dad?" Ned guessed. Tony burst out laughing. Peter sighed.

"No... it's... a long story..."

**Author's Note:**

> Yeeeeeeh....


End file.
